Jungle Kill by Jim Eldridge Read Free Book Online

agreed.
    ‘OK,’ he said. ‘It’ll give us time to check our equipment, and grab a bit of shut-eye.’ He checked his watch. ‘Turn and turn about: three sleep, three on watch. Gaz, Tug and Benny, you three grab some sleep first. I’ll take first watch with Mitch and Two Moons.’

9
     
    Mitch and Two Moons sat back to back at the edge of the village so they could keep watch on a full 360 degrees, taking in the village and the jungle. Nelson was on his own, patrolling the perimeter, rifle at the ready. The village was quiet. Everyone else was asleep. The fires had burnt down and now only ash glowed red amongst the grey of the embers in the cooking pits.
    Around them, the jungle resonated with the sounds of the night animals: chitter chattering, slithering and an occasional howling.
    ‘Guess those are the bad spirits out there,’ murmured Two Moons.
    ‘Guess so,’ said Mitch.
    Two Moons shook his head and said, ‘Here weare, with gizmos to get us through any situation, and we take advice about not going through the jungle at night from a guy who believes in magic.’
    ‘I wouldn’t have thought you’d have a problem with that,’ responded Mitch, with a wry smile. ‘When I was in Arizona I met a whole bunch of Native Americans talking about being guided by spirits.’
    ‘That’s different,’ said Two Moons. ‘Our beliefs don’t stop us using modern things. Some of our people believe we should only ride horses and use bows and arrows to hunt, because that’s what our ancestors did. Me, I can chase a buffalo faster in a jeep than I can on a horse and I can shoot it quicker and cleaner with a rifle.’
    ‘You hunt buffalo?’ asked Mitch, impressed.
    ‘Well, no,’ admitted Two Moons. ‘I prefer a good beef burger. But if I was going to hunt, I’d use a rifle and four wheels. Each to their own.’
    ‘If you think about it, Adwana’s belief in magic is no different to a modern army being given ablessing by a priest before they go into battle.’ Mitch shrugged. ‘It’s just a different sort of magic, that’s all.’
    ‘You don’t believe in magic, Mitch?’ asked Two Moons. ‘You don’t believe in any sort of religion?’
    Mitch grinned. ‘I believe in
everything,’
he said. ‘I’m taking no chances. When I get to heaven, it doesn’t matter what sort of God or juju is there waiting for me, I’m gonna be OK.’
    ‘You’re just an opportunistic cynic,’ said Two Moons.
    ‘Absolutely,’ agreed Mitch. ‘And it’s kept me alive so far, so I’m hardly likely to change now.’
    Silence descended between them, and they sat there, listening, ears strained for any sounds other than the background noise of the jungle: a metallic click, a boot on brush.
    They watched Nelson as he patrolled, eyes and ears always alert.
    Two Moons broke the silence: ‘Don’t come down too hard on Tug.’
    ‘I didn’t think I was,’ said Mitch.
    ‘It’s in your eyes,’ said Two Moons. ‘You don’t like him.’
    ‘It’s not a case of liking him or not,’ said Mitch. ‘He makes it pretty clear he’s suspicious of me. But that’s OK.’
    ‘I’m talking about this business of him not trusting the villagers. He had a bad experience. He was with a unit in Afghanistan that took the word of some locals. The locals sold ‘em out. Tug was the only one that survived. Since then he don’t trust nobody, ‘cept us in Delta Unit.’
    ‘Which doesn’t include me,’ said Mitch.
    ‘Not yet,’ said Two Moons. ‘Give him time.’
    ‘You guys been together long?’
    Two Moons nodded. ‘Nearly two years, which – in this business – is a long while for a bunch of guys to stay together as one unit.’
    ‘What happened to the guy I replaced?’ asked Mitch.
    Two Moons shrugged. ‘Joe McNeil,’he said. ‘He died. He was trying to defuse a bomb. The bastard who rigged it had booby-trapped it.’ He gave a wry sigh. ‘I liked Joe. We all did. He used to make us laugh.’
    ‘We all lose people in this